Complicating the Abortion Discussion

[There are] seemingly minute deviations in the proportion of boys and girls born to Americans of Chinese, Indian and Korean descent. In those families, if the first child was a girl, it was more likely that a second child would be a boy, according to recent studies of census data. If the first two children were girls, it was even more likely that a third child would be male. Demographers say the statistical deviation among Asian-American families is significant, and they believe it reflects not only a preference for male children, but a growing tendency for these families to embrace sex-selection techniques, like in vitro fertilization and sperm sorting, or abortion.

Another reason it’s important to open the tent. Chinese feminists have always viewed abortion as a feminist issue – but the issue was forced or coerced abortions. For all women, of course, the real issue is reproductive control – whether it’s being able to refuse intercourse, insist upon protection, gain access to birth control, get or refuse an abortion. Feminism strives to address the reality of women’s lives. It’s important to recognize that reality is not the same for all women.